


The Jungle Book: Next Gen

by GayBaeShipping



Category: The Jungle Book - All Media Types
Genre: Bagheera and Shere Khan have a cub, Baloo Loves Bagheera, F/F, F/M, Fan Characters, Female Kaa, Hybrids, M/M, Transgender Bagheera, fan child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:27:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayBaeShipping/pseuds/GayBaeShipping
Summary: Deep in the jungle, two fathers battle over a cub. Bagheera the black panther and Shere Khan the tiger had a single cub three years ago. And the cub doesn’t understand why she has never met Shere Khan and why everyone is so afraid of him. When she goes investigating, she might learn the truth about why he is feared. But will she learn the consequences herself? Or will everyone else will?Deep in the jungle, Mowgli's village is met with a hunter named Buldeo, who intends to catch his friends in the jungle. However, if he goes against Buldeo, he will surely be kicked from the village. Now he must face the decision. Stop Buldeo and be kicked from the man village, or let him kill all his friends.
Relationships: Bagheera/Baloo (Jungle Book), Bagheera/Shere Khan (Jungle Book), Original Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anii Mate](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Anii+Mate).



> Okay, so explanation time!  
> My friend, who I’ve been friends with for about ten years, asked me for a favour. Basically, she loves the Jungle Book, and everything related to it (book, movie, games, you name it) and she showed her little sister. Her little sister thought Bagheera was a girl (even though his voice is deep af) and asked my friend (who is very artistic) to make a fan child of Bagheera and Shere Khan. And so she did. And then she asked me if I could write about her and make a fanfiction of them. And I, of course, said yes.  
> So I am making a fanfiction of Bagheera and Shere Khan’s child. Check out her YouTube to see her character and I will write the story of her character. Actually, she said in the Polish and Russian dubs of the movie, Bagheera is female. And in comics in Italy, he is also female, so I guess it makes sense even though her family only speaks English. So in this fanfiction, Bagheera is FTM.  
> I usually don’t like male preg, but I will work with it in this fiction. And also, the characters are heavily relied on in their original (book) description. And there will be other relationships. Oh, and the story will switch POVs frequently.  
> The voices will be the same as the first movie (I should point out I don't like George Sanders, but his voice suits Shere Khan).
> 
> My friends' YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81C1tsY-vVBaP-SbtEGL5Q?view_as=subscriber
> 
> The first chapter is short because it is just an introduction.

Deep in the jungle, animals are being born every hour of every day. But those thousands of newborn critters are not the focus of this story. This story is about the birth of one of the first hybrids the jungle had ever known, or the first they could confirm (for Tabaqui was a bit of a mixed-race, being either hyena or jackal or both, no one could tell).

Now, to understand how two males could bear a child, first you must understand that Bagheera, the black panther, was not born male. He was born female and forced to live in the wrong body his whole life. And to understand how Shere Khan the tiger and Bagheera were on friendly enough terms to mate nobody really knows.

By the point after the mating was complete, something snapped in Shere Khan and his rage became a fear of the jungle. Bagheera grew to hate the tiger and chase him away from his friends Baloo the bear and the wolf pack. Bagheera did not know he was pregnant until the actual labour occurred, and he was close to the tree of a bonnet macaque monkey named Qiri, who helped him give birth and attempted multiple times to change his sex in the future.

And so when the birth of the cub was done, it was clear to Bagheera what he must do. Protect this cub until his dying breath he would, and protect this cub from its father, man and anything else he would. By the Broken Lock that saved him, he would protect this cub.

***

Deep in the jungle, Shere Khan felt a change in the winds. He did not know how he knew something had changed, but he knew it had. The water was cool against his lame leg and his burnt front paws. Tabaqui sprung along the shallows, singing to the sky off-key. Shere Khan was born jealous and arrogant, though part of the blame was to be made to his mother, who named him Lungri, which meant the Lame One.

He was not an affectionate tiger. He might've been once, given the mating with Bagheera, but he was no longer. He had no patience to stand having a mate, and protect that mate and the cubs. No, they would be left to fend for themselves. Even then, he was resigned to a life of solitude, apart from Tabaqui, who followed his 'master' with bated breath.

The jungle was an unfortunate place for Khan, as he was crippled and injured and unable to hunt in the densley packed jungle, and so he hunted in the fields made by man, killing their cattle and sometimes man himself.

Oh well, he thought, slinking into the black shadows, I'll always be ready for whatever comes next.

***

Deep in the jungle, Baloo woke to find his old friend Bagheera settling down beside him, a cub in his mouth. "Hey, Baghee," Baloo greeted, lazily opening one eye. "Babysitting?"

"My cub," Bagheera said, and silenced Baloo, suddenly wide awake with a stare. "Later." And he put his head on his paws and began to snore, the cub nestled under his neck, her red-and-black fur probably brushing his bald patch.

Now, Baloo was a lazy bear and never showed much interest in mates, but over the years of knowing Bagheera as the smart, sleek panther who escaped from man's cage and taught himself about the jungle, feelings of affection and perhaps even...love...had formed in the place of his caring, but platonic feelings. So seeing a cub of Bagheera's, from someone else, some sleek tigeress, by the looks of it (Baloo at this point did not know Bagheera was born into the wrong body) was very upsetting to Baloo.

But, nevertheless, he would wait until morning to ask Bagheera. For now he settled down beside his friend and dozed off beside him, and the cub.

***

Deep in the jungle, Kaa yawned a placid sigh, her eyes jittering with their hypnotic abilities. Sleep among the wicked was hard to come by, as she could hear from Shere Khan's roar. Many things were changing tonight, many new smells entering the jungle. She flicked out her tongue, scenting the air.

Yes, many things were changing. New prey, new predators, new friends, new critters. New hope.

***

Deep in the jungle, Colonel Hathi laid beside his wife Winifred quietly, their son between them. Old and wise as he was, he would forever love and cherish his family.

In the morning, before dawn patrol, he would go up and go for a walk as always, looking out for his old friends, except, of course, the tiger and the snake.

***

Deep in the jungle, Louie slept upon his ruined throne, whilst the monkeys under him would hurry to finish rebuilding the old ruins that had once collapsed. Perhaps a bad night to be sleeping, but also a greedy monkey by nature.

For a greedy monkey does as he pleases.

***

Deep in the fire-scorched part of the jungle, Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy and Dizzy talked of what they had seen that day. A new cub born, a man cub in the burrow of the wolves, a tiger who burnt his paws on mans fire and perhaps, worst of all. A hunter in the man village.


	2. Chapter 2

Deep in the jungle, a deer grazed on grass clippings, unaware of the animal slinking towards it. Black and orange-red coat blent into the grass, golden eyes tracking the deer's movement. Crouching down, the animal tensed and leapt, sinking teeth into her prey. The deer fell with a heavy thud, and with a swift snap of her neck, the deer died. "Well done, Fern!" Bagheera said, slipping into view, looking at his daughter proudly. "An excellent kill!"

"Want to share with me?" Fern Clover asked, nudging it forward. "I can't eat all of it."

"We can share it with Baloo," Bagheera said, twining her tail. "He'll be very impressed."

Dragging her catch along the ground, Fern followed her father (now without female genitals) towards the pack's caves. Baloo was sitting on the ground in front of a small group of wolf pups, babbling on about the Laws of the Jungle. Bagheera rolled his eyes playfully and jumped into a tree, watching his daughter carefully. Bagheera certainly was a paternal figure, and whilst he was affectionate and took to spoiling his cub, he was a good parent. He taught her everything he knew, led her through every part of the jungle, let her be taught by Baloo, and would let her sit on a cliff, watching the man village, always warning her about the danger of men and their Red Flower. 

Even as a cub, he refused to be a maternal figure. He didn't feed her himself, he asked Raksha for help, who gladly accepted as thanks for bringing her Mowgli. As Fern grew older and stronger, until she no longer relied on milk, but meat, Bagheera taught her how to hunt, how to remain stealthy and how to swim (he didn't like teaching her the latter, as he was no tiger and hated his fur getting wet, but she was pleased to learn it and would swim across the rivers when she was hot).

Fern laid the deer at the trees' roots and sniffed at it, biting off her fair share. Bagheera wasn't hungry yet, and laid on the branch above her, his tail swinging to and fro. When she was a cub, before she learned to climb, she would try and catch his tail from the ground, jumping and leaping. A few times he let her catch it, only to give her a growl when her teeth hurt too much. She learnt to climb that way. Chasing his tail up the trees, she taught herself how to scale up the trees and catch it. 

As a cub, he had to be careful not to hurt her, and learned from Raksha how to pick her up by the scurf of her neck (after a startled and outraged Raksha found him trying to carry her up a slope with her foot in his mouth).

As a cub, she was playful, and when the wolf pups got bored of her, she would play with Bagheera and Baloo, jumping on them and tackling. Bagheera played much more gentle with her, whilst Baloo was more rough and rowdy. That being said, Bagheera trusted Baloo with his cub, and sometimes when he needed a moment alone, he would leave her with Baloo. He wasn't gone long, mind you. He couldn't stay away for more than an hour. It wasn't an exaggeration when he said Fern was his life.

Which is probably why he didn't tell her out Shere Khan being her father. She heard about him, heard stories, knew Bagheera and Khan once had a past, but she had always assumed she came from a female tigress who died in childbirth and he didn't correct her. Sometimes Bagheera wanted to tell her, but then he would remember Mowgli and Khan's passion to kill him, and knew he couldn't risk his cub being treated badly. He already thanked his lucky stars she was healthy when she came out, and didn't suffer from the same crippled leg Shere Khan did. 

Maybe one day she would find out, but today would not be that day. Baloo dismissed his students, who ran off gratefully, and waddled over. "Oh, a deer," he said, delighted. "Good job, Fern!"

Fern beamed, always happy to earn compliments and being praised. "Did you get any honey?"

"I can't take the honey like you can, Baloo," she said, jumping into the tree branch behind her father, nestling her head near his tail, which he idly flipped onto her head, making a small game of catch the tail before she laid down completely. "Besides, honeys no good for you."

Baloo chuckled. "You say that, but I am by far the smartest out of all of you," he said.

"Slowest, you mean," Bagheera joked, and Baloo playfully batted him on the head.

"Well, whatever you mean, tell me when I wake up," Fern said with a yawn, her head drooping. Bagheera turned around so his head faced hers, and got himself comfortable, closing his eyes against the days rays.

***

The dry season came, and it was the worst anyone had ever seen, taking away water from the streams. Bagheera was often forced to resort to choking down mud, and Fern would, of course, follow his lead.

So when the Truce Rock showed itself, everyone was delighted. Bagheera walked beside Fern, who was his height at 2 now. As the Water Truce dictated, drinking came before eating, and Bagheera passed antelope he would've eaten to drink. At a nod of his head, Fern walked off to drink besides a mugger crocodile and a young deer.

Of course, water tasted better than ever and Bagheera watched her lap it up thirstily, ignoring animals she would prey on. When she lifted her head, she even splashed the young deer with some water (who was struggling to lean down and drink it). 

Once done, he wandered over to Baloo, who had already drunk his share and was laying on his back. Fern splashed the deer again, which did nothing, and then she demonstrated how to kneel down, which the deer tried to do, and fell over (but gave it access to the water). She let it be and walked over to her father, tail curled like a tiger's, and lay beside him, her white tummy exposed to the sun. She rolled over a few times, and Bagheera playfully batted her with his paw, making a sort of game out of it.

It was when the shadow appeared that Bagheera stopped, his paw drifting to the ground, Fern pausing the game to see what was wrong. She followed his gaze to the character outlined in the sun. "Fern," Bagheera said, low and careful. "Stay close to me." It leapt down to a rock, and she could see it bore stripes like hers and was the same orange as her head, back legs and other patches on her body. She could hear him snarl from the spot he stood.

He jumped down and the path cleared, showing a tiger who bore a crippled leg and the gait of someone with burn scars on his paws. "Father," she whispered.

"Shush," Bagheera hushed, standing to move in front of her protectively, making her stand to see the tiger.

He bent down to take a drink, lapping at the water as other animals kept their distance from him. "Everyone comes to Peace Rock, so many smells to catch up on," he said, in a deep voice, one that hid danger behind every syllable. Bagheera growled slightly, and Baloo did the same. "It smells like... a man-cub."

Akela quickly rushed to the defence, Mowgli hiding behind him. "Shift your hunting grounds for a few years and everyone forgets the law," the tiger said, and Fern felt a sting of hostility in her blood. She glanced once at Bagheera and quietly walked behind Akela's pack, to the rock not far from the tiger. "Let me remind you. Man-cub becomes man and man is FORBIDDEN!"

The threat hung in the air like cobwebs, and Fern growled at him. Akela once again rushed to the defence, and the tiger said his words, "No, I'm deeply respectful of the Laws that keep us safe. So here's my promise. Nothing lasts forever. The rains will return and the river will rise, and when this rock disappears that truce will end. You want to protect him, fine. But ask yourselves this. How many lives is a man-cub worth?"

Fern's body acted before her mind told her to stop, and she roared, leaping forward, stopping herself inches from him, as he whirled, growling like she was, Bagheera calling her name in worry across the river. The tiger glanced at Bagheera quickly, and then back at her. "Does your leg make you crippled in the head as well as your leg?" she said, calmer than she felt (her heart was thundering a million miles an hour, no way was she calm). "Or are you just uneducated in the Laws?"

He growled at her. "Don't growl at me!" she snapped, stepping forward one more. "You're not as tough as you think you are." She could see the flash of outrage in his eyes, but before he could say anything, she spoke up. "Since you seem so oblivious to the Law, I'll recite it for you. If a Water Truce is called, any violence, whether physical or verbal, will be punishable by lack of water." She growled in her throat. "And you just threatened the wolf pack. Since you've broken the Law, from this day forth, you are not allowed to drink from the water, even if you are dying of thirst."

He looked at her with a venom in his eyes and she glared right back, holding her ground. "And do you think you're going to stop me," he said, calm like her, "defective cub?" He stepped forward menacingly and she responded by growling and making a show of going to paw him away, stopping centimetres before she hit him. Bagheera roared across the water, but she ignored him.

"Try me," she growled, baring her teeth at him. She lowered her voice so only he could hear, "I'll chase you away if I have to, Shere Khan." 

For what felt like hours, they stood, challenging one another silently, before Shere Khan snarled, blinked and turned away, walking calmly towards the rocks he came from. "I won't forget this, defective cub," he called over his shoulder.

"And neither will I," she said warningly, emphasizing each word more than the last. With that, he disappeared over the rocks and she walked back to her father (not looking very happy) as the animals who had kept their distance came back to the water, drinking thirstily. "Sorry, Father." She said as soon as she sat in front of Bagheera, ducking her head as if waiting for punishment.

"Don't do that again," was all he said, before rubbing her head with his. She didn't miss the glance he threw at Baloo.


	3. Chapter 3

Deep in the jungle, the rain fell, and the Peace Rock disappeared. The more rain that fell, the more it disappeared, the longer Fern watched it, as if willing it not to disappear, as if willing it to stay above the water. Bagheera paced down to the ledge she lay on, his hide being pelted by rain. "Fern?" he said. She lifted her head, letting him lay beside her. "What's troubling you?"

"The Peace Rock is going," she said, watching it pool up. "Shere Khan might actually come back for Mowgli." He didn't want to tell her how accurate she really was; he knew Shere Khan and he knew that he would come for him. "Why does he hate man so much?"

"He is afraid of man's gun and red flower," Bagheera said, rain rolling off of his whiskers. "He doesn't care that Mowgli is just a cub. He fears that he will turn into a man and become a hunter, like the one who hunts for him."

"Someone is hunting for him?" Fern said, looking away from the Peace Rock to meet her father's eyes.

"He kills man's cattle," Bagheera explained. "And so the village brought a hunter to kill him."

"Will they?"

"It'll be hard," Bagheera said. "Shere Khan...is smart." He hesitated. "He knows how to cover his tracks, knows how and when the cattle are not as guarded, and knows what to do if it looks like he is about to be defeated." He nudges her shoulder with his snout. "Which is why I worry for you. You stood up to him at the Water Truce. He will not like that. His usual response to being defeated is to attack back. But...he watches his opponent, judges them, their character, as carefully as possible."

Fern said nothing, just turned back to the Peace Rock. They stayed like that for several moments, before standing up and walking to the tree outside the Council Rock. They lay there together, drying their fur. "Father?" Fern said, her head on her paws. Bagheera grunted in acknowledgement. "What was my mother like?"

He hesitated. "You've known her all along," he finally said.

"Don't be ridiculous, I only know the tiger Shere Khan," she said, curling her tail around her paws. "I'm talking about tigress."

"Your mother isn't a tigress," Bagheera said. "Your mother is me."

Fern didn't seem all that surprised. "I knew you were born female, but I didn't think you'd actually given birth to me," she admitted, leaning against his side. "So, who's my other father?"

"Well," Bagheera once again hesitated. "You've met him."

"But I've only met -" she stopped, and realisation dawned on her face. "No. No, no, no, no, no."

"Fern, listen to me," Bagheera said, as she stood and jumped into the tree branches anxiously. He jumped up and in front of her. "Just because you are his daughter doesn't make you anything like him. You are your own person."

"But I'm his cub," she said, breathless. "How many people know?"

"Akela," Bagheera listed. "Baloo, Raksha, Rama, Kaa, Hathi, Winifred, but that's it!"

"But... they don't hate me," she said, her voice low and scared.

"Because it isn't a part of you," he said. "You are Fern Clover, not Shere Khan's daughter. To them, you're yourself, not his cub." She didn’t look convinced, but didn’t argue, settling on her haunches, head down. Bagheera reached off and bumped her head with his own. “Only fools judge a creature by their parents.”

“And yet,” she said, not looking in his eyes. “The jungle is full of fools.” She met his eyes at last, and he saw pain and hope. He knew her well enough to know that she was in pain because one of her parents was a monster. But he also knew she was hopeful, because maybe, just maybe, he might want to know her.

“Fern,” he said evenly, his tail curling around her paws. “Please promise me. Promise me that you will not going looking for him…at least until I’ve spoken to him.”

There was a flicker of doubt in her gaze. “Alright,” she agreed, looking down at her paws, and his tail, flitting over it. “I’m going to get a drink.”

She jumped to the floor, landing softly on her paws, and paced off, soon disappearing into the shadowy growth. “Give her some time,” Baloo said, lying beneath the tree. “She’ll need time to adjust.”

“I know,” Bagheera said. “I’m just worried what she’ll do when I’m not looking.” He sighed and jumped to Baloo’s side, laying beside him, close to his warmth. “He’s not the same Khan we once knew.”

Baloo said nothing, just moved closer to him. “Well, he might like her,” he said at last. “After all, he’s only met her at the Water Truce. And from what I remember, he likes strong cubs.”

“Yeah,” Bagheera said. “I hope so.”

***

The ferns she was named after brushed her legs, tickling her softly. She would never tell her father, but she had met Khan before the Water Truce. By accident. Kind of. She closed her eyes, sunk to the ground and let the memory wash over her.

***

2-month-old Fern woke up in the middle of the night, nestled at Bagheera’s side. She had barely any words, except ‘Father’ and ‘hungry’. Other than that, she made little mewling sounds to grab Bagheera’s attention, to call for help. Once she had fallen down a hill and mewled for ages before Baloo found her and carried her back up (Bagheera was out hunting at that moment).

She yawned, stretching her tiny limbs and climbed over Bagheera’s tail, curled around her protectively. She walked around the small area, coming to the edge of the cliff. Watching Bagheera carefully scale it was inspirational to tiny Fern, and so she had been practising, though usually with Baloo at the top and Bagheera by her side.

She stepped onto the first step, and the next. The further down she got, the steeper it became. And she had never come this far. She leaned down as best as she could, trying to scale it, but it was too far and she slipped, plummeting to the tree branches. She caught herself on the branch, before slipping and landing with a thud on the ground.

It hurt, but nothing snapped, and she could stand. She sat and mewled lowly, waiting for help. After a while she grew tired and laid down to mewl. The leaves rustled, but the branches didn’t part to reveal Bagheera, or Baloo, or Akela, or Raksha, or anyone she knew. It revealed a tiger.

A handsome tiger, with his face in a scowl, and a crippled leg. He looked at her, and she stopped mewling to stare at him, tilting her head. His gaze was soft, but still ruined by that ugly scowl. She stood slightly, sniffing the air around him. He smelt like blood, the green of the jungle and a bit like something else she didn’t have words for. He leaned down, bumping her nose. She raised herself on her back legs, setting her front paws on his nose.

He made a growl deep in his throat, but she was not afraid. Instead, she was intrigued. He was the opposite of her father. Somehow, despite her young age, she knew he wasn’t as scary as he was trying to make himself. He seemed…lonely, in pain, depressed, and perhaps even upset. And he looked slightly like her. The same orange colour scattered across her back, head and back legs, and the same stripes (though a lot of her body was mostly black).

He ducked his head and she touched onto the ground. He lifted his head, unsure what to do. She purred and he opened his mouth, carefully picking her up in his teeth, trying not to apply too much force. It gently latched around her stomach, instead of her nape, but she didn’t struggle or fight, and he knew it was safe for her.

He began to walk, carefully searching for a scent. He must’ve caught it, because he didn’t fault from his path, walking quickly and quietly. A few times he clamped a little too hard and she would yelp to let him know. When she did, he would put her down and pick her up again.

He was gentle and careful, and finally, he arrived. It was the foot of the tree where Bagheera still slept, Baloo sleeping beside him back-to-back. The tiger put her down and growled at Bagheera and Baloo. Fern rubbed her head against his legs. He looked down at her and made a sound almost like a purr. Bagheera groaned in his sleep, and moved slightly, curling his tail. His brow creased in confusion, and he wearily opened his eyes.

“Fern,” he said, standing and walking over. “You shouldn’t wander off in the night. It’s dangerous.” Fern turned, and the tiger no longer stood there. He was gone. She had no words to say he was there, but she tried, mewling. Bagheera gently picked her up in his mouth and walked to Baloo’s side, setting her between him and Baloo. She mewled once, into the night, but nobody replied.

***

She was certain now that that tiger was Shere Khan. It was unmistakable. The crippled leg and gait as if his front paws were in constant pain. So, he had met her. And she was definitely memorable, colour-wise. So…

Why hadn’t he come forward until the Truce?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character Info Sheet:  
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_ar_1xbpfAezQYgtR5QDC3cV3ZiQSF76Xenu_77K49U/edit?usp=sharing

Deep in the jungle, Bagheera had found a scent trail to the one he was looking for. He hadn’t seen him in a long time. Ever since he escaped his cage and met him. And when he did, they both felt it. An indescribable attraction. An attraction that changed into love. Foolish younger Bagheera had thought they were mates. He wasn’t. He was only a black cat for Shere Khan to indulge himself in. Something beautiful, that turned sour quickly.

“OH, the black cats back, the black cats back!” an irritating voice said, in a sing-song tone.

“Hello, Tabaqui,” Bagheera said pleasantly, forcing himself not to wrinkle his nose. “I’m looking for Shere Khan.”

“The Master’s out at the moment,” the hyena-jackal (nobody knew which one he was, and Fern had suggested that perhaps he was both. Ever since she said that, Bagheera had been calling him a hyena-jackal hybrid in his head) said cheekily. “Hunting for a little funny-coloured tiger.”

Bagheera’s heart caught but he forced any panic out of his expression. “Is he now?”

“Indeed he is,” Tabaqui said, giggling, flies swarming around him. “A little tiger with a big mouth, or so I’ve heard.”

“You ought to shut that mouth of yours,” a voice said from the shadows, and Tabaqui whimpered. Stepping out from the foliage, orange striped and as regal as ever, was Shere Khan.

***

The rain had finally stopped. The pack was meeting at the top of the cliff, as they always did for pack meetings. Fern couldn’t help looking up at them constantly. “What’re they talking about?” she asked Baloo, who was busy chewing into honeycomb.

“Mowgli,” he said, yawning. “They’re worried what Shere Khan will do. To him, and the pack.”

Fern said nothing, but glanced over at Mowgli, the man cub who had been raised by Raksha. He was a good friend of hers, though she didn’t like his quick temper and attitude at the best of times. She preferred hanging out with Grey Brother, who was serious but gentle. Her type of person. “Baloo?”

“Hm.”

“What do you know about Shere Khan?”

Baloo paused at this and sighed. “Come down,” he said. “I will tell you what I know.” She jumped down, sitting beside him, always eager for Baloo’s stories. He opened his mouth and began.

***

“Long time, no see,” Shere Khan said, moving forward slowly, as if he were hunting prey. Bagheera unsheathed his claws, just in case. “Tabaqui, shoo.” The hyena-jackal obeyed, tail between his legs. “What brings you to this part of my territory?”

“This isn’t your territory,” Bagheera said, calm and even. “This is the wolf pack’s. You know this.”

“Hm,” Shere Khan said, uninterested. “What do you want?”

“To talk,” Bagheera said. “About Fern.”

“Fern?” Shere Khan said, as if bored. He idly flipped his tail, half chasing a bug with the tip. “I don’t know who that is.”

“That’s why we need to talk,” Bagheera said. “You have a daughter.”

Shere Khan didn’t even blink, looking as uninterested as ever. “Do I now?” he yawned. “Well, that’s certainly unexpected.”

“You don’t care?”

“Should I?”

“I hate it when you answer my questions with questions.”

“Yes, I recall that.”

Bagheera forced down the urge to claw him in the face. He had to remain strong and nonviolent. “Please,” he said. “Can we please just talk? Parent to parent? Not as past lovers or any of that?”

“Fine,” Shere Khan said, laying down on his stomach, still flipping his tail about. “But hurry up. I’m hungry…and bored.”

“Oh, you are?” Bagheera said sarcastically. “That’s very nice! Why don’t you run off and hunt and then come back and talk like a grown tiger and not a cub!”

If Shere Khan was annoyed, he didn’t show it. “Are you going to talk to me?”

Bagheera growled, and sat down, but did not adopt the relaxed pose Khan was showing. “She challenged you at the Truce,” he said.

“I figured as much,” Khan said. “Quite a tongue she has. Glad she didn’t adopt the leg I bear.”

“I don’t trust you around her.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re not the Khan I used to know. When I met you, you were strong and grumpy, but you still had a heart. You didn’t hunt man cubs or man just because. You did it for a purpose.”

“I still do. If I don’t kill man, how are we to stop them from taking more of the jungle?”

“Don’t say ‘we’.”

“Fine.”

“Oh, by the Broken Lock that freed me! How am I to trust you from harming her when you meet her?” He paused. “ _If_ you meet her.”

Khan said barely anything. “Shouldn’t every parent meet their cub?” he asked simply.

Bagheera growled, annoyed. “They should, yes,” he agreed. “But I don’t trust you. You are violent, and I have no doubt you will harm her if she angers you further.”

“Further?”

“I know you’re annoyed she challenged you at the Truce. She doesn’t take rubbish from anyone. Knowing you, you’ll challenge her, and she’ll challenge you back. What’s to stop you from attacking her if she annoys you too much?”

“Since when have I ever lashed out at you?”

“You haven’t. But you’ve changed. I don’t know you.”

“And I can’t change your mind, obviously. Give me a chance, Bagheera.”

Bagheera stood, flicking his tail. “No,” he said. “I don’t trust you. If you can prove yourself, maybe I’ll consider it.”

***

“When I knew him, he wasn’t so bad,” Baloo began. “His birth name is Lungri, which means Lame One. As you can probably tell, he didn’t have a particular kind mother. When I knew him, he was definitely Mr Tough Guy, definitely rude, definitely brash and mean and bullying, but you could peel that away and he was a decent tiger.

“I don’t know exactly when your dad and Khan became a thing. I kind of knew they were interested, let’s say. But I never expected them to be…together. Mated, even?

“Well, he was a good guy. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he had enough of being mistreated. Perhaps he was driven to it by man. One way or another, when he turned three, he snapped. He killed a pack of man, who were camping nearby. He killed all of them, and then killed any who passed into the jungle. The only one he couldn’t kill was Mowgli.

“Bagheera had you, and vowed never to let him meet you until he was safe around you. Apart from that, his history is lost to me.”


	5. Chapter 5

Deep in the jungle, Bagheera had returned back. Fern, always eager for stories, immediately moved forward to hear, but Bagheera gave her answers in two words and called for Baloo. The two lumbered off into the jungle, too close together to be platonic.

Fern frowned to herself and lay on the branches. The council was arguing over Mowgli. Let him go, or keep him? Risk the packs life, or save the pack? Of course, Bagheera was adamant about returning him to the man village, Baloo was neither for it nor against it, Raksha desperately wanted him to stay, and Akela was concerned for the pack safety.

Fern felt herself walking on uneven ground. Mowgli would be safest in the man village. But he didn’t know the human tongue, and if wolves in the same pack can still treat one another so badly, what was his future in a village with people he couldn’t communicate with and who would most likely mock him? On the other paw, Mowgli knew no other life apart from the pack. He had grown up around wolves, he spoke wolf, he was a wolf, no matter what he was born as. But, on the other paw, he was born a man, and if being around a pack of wolves taught Fern anything is that species should stick together.

She didn’t know what to do. Bagheera and Baloo returned from the jungle growth, pacing over to the council. Bagheera looked utterly lost, and Fern figured it was best to let him try and figure it out. He didn’t look over at her. Baloo did, however, and gave her a warm, comforting gaze.

By the time Bagheera finally looked at her, it was to tell her he’d be gone a few days to take Mowgli to the man-village. They exchanged affectionate touches, Bagheera gave her a firm warning of her staying away from the river whilst the monsoon continued, Shere Khan, Tabaqui, man traps, etc. And then Fern licked Mowgli’s cheek and said goodbye. They weren’t the closest of friends, but certainly enough so that they would miss one another.

And then she perched on a tree branch, watching the shadowy flickers of her father’s fur disappear into the undergrowth. She stayed there until she could no longer spot Mowgli’s tanned skin.

***

By the fourth day, Fern was completely bored. Baloo had taught her so much she got headaches at the end of the day. Akela had asked her to not join the nightly hunt because her coat gave them away too early. She only ate when she was hungry, but she was eating more out of boredom.

So she took to exploring. She walked through trees, on the ground, through the river when the rain stopped, and even down the cliffs. But eventually, even that became boring, and so she slept. So by day four, she was so bored she decided to find Shere Khan. She remembered her father warning her not to find him, but she would be careful. Would flee at the sight of danger, not fight.

The only problem was, she discovered as soon as she set out, she couldn’t remember what he smelt like. Most predators have a similar scent, with blood, jungle and the scent of heat. But all predators are usually accompanied by a unique, underlying scent. Bagheera had one she could recognise instantly. Blood, heat, jungle and a wood-like scent she could only describe as Bagheera. Which meant Shere Khan would have the scent. But she had completely forgotten what it smelt like by the time she set out.

So she wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to pick up a scent when she came across a familiar, unpleasant one that usually meant Khan was nearby. The smell of blood, decay, jungle and what definitely smelt like someone had rolled around in their own faeces. She stepped through the growth and sure enough, Tabaqui sat contently at the riverbank, humming a tune and gnawing at a bone.

Out of all predators, he smelt the worst. Even worse than Baloo, and that was saying something.

“Tabaqui,” she greeted coolly, hiding her disgust and disdain behind an apathetic face. He lifted his head and met her eyes. There was a moment of a staring contest before he gave up and looked away.

“Come for food?” he asked, watching her lean down and lap at the water, her eyes never leaving his body, her ears pricked in case of danger.

She licked her lips, her whiskers twitching. “No,” she said. “Looking for someone.”

“A boy?” he teased, giggling. “You looking for a mate? How picturesque.”

“I’m looking for your master,” she said, deadpan, sitting with her tail curled around her back paws. “Do you know where he is, Tabaqui?”

“Behind you,” Tabaqui said cheekily, and Fern whirled, coming face-to-face with Shere Khan.

He seemed calm, his face almost as apathetic as hers, minus a signature (charming?) smile. “Good evening,” he said pleasantly, as if commenting on the weather or the taste of water. “I remember you. From the Truce?”

“Indeed,” she said, not relaxing her muscles, and surveying him for weak points. “You’re the tiger that threatened the pack. Shere Khan, right?”

“You already know that is who I am,” he said coolly, laying down casually. “And I already know who you are. Or so I’ve recently learned. Bagheera’s cub, correct?”

“Correct,” she said, only lowering her defence a little to sit down. “Offspring of Bagheera and his partner.”

“Yes, I’m aware you are my cub,” Khan said. “But I only found out recently.” He examined her piercingly, his eyes as fierce and stubborn as her own. “You have Bagheera’s eyes.”

“That’s strange,” she said evenly. “He says I have yours.”

He chuckled, in a deep, almost honey-like tone. “You have his green tint,” he said. “With a little gold, I suppose. Quite unusual. Quite unique.”

“Unusual and unique isn’t the first thing I think of you saying,” she said. “Man cub, maybe? Small. Weak. Useless. Cocky. Those come to mind.”

He chuckled again, only this time it didn’t sound so amused. “Indeed, they do,” he said, lowly. He slowly stood up and began circling her. “I must admit that little stunt you pulled at the Truce was quite brave. But bravery borders very thinly on stupidity.”

She forced herself not to flinch, and locked eyes with him, their golden, almost hypnotic gazes clashing. Neither spoke, neither moved. The only reason they looked away was because Tabaqui shuffled over to stand beside Shere Khan and Fern glanced down at him. In that one second, Shere Khan lunged forward, claws extended and ripping straight through the flesh of her back leg.

He had probably only meant to stun her, but he was too fast, too powerful behind it, and instead of only leaving a warning wound, it left something deep.

She shrieked in a jaguar-like roar, turned from him and ran, blood trailing across the ground, from both her leg and her tail, scratched in the fray. Pain clouded her senses, and she knew she wasn’t following the right scents back to the cliff. She felt light-headed, uncomfortably aware of how much liquid was running from her leg. The shock had worn away, and it didn’t hurt at all, despite knowing it should. It was badly damaged, she knew.

She could faintly smell something, and she stumbled forward, panting and letting out cub-like mewls. Something landed in front of her, a leopard of some sort. “What happened?” they said, but before she could say anything, she collapsed to the ground, blackness darker than her father’s fur engulfing her.


	6. Chapter 6

She was dreaming but it was more of a memory mixed with a nightmare. She was crouched low in the tall, shadowy grass, sneaking up on a doe curled nearby. She crept forward, silently, ears pricked, attention wholly on the animal. She leant of her back legs and tried to leap. But one of her legs was not responding. She shrieked, scaring away the doe, as ugly slashes appeared in her leg, cutting down to the bone, rendering her useless.

Fern woke gasping for air, her nose clouded with herb scents and dried blood. “Calm, calm, calm,” a gentle voice said, and a warm hand laid on her snout. “Peace, peace.” It was Qiri. The monkey who changed her father’s sex. “Hurt. Very hurt. Limp. Bad tiger. Smack him.”

The monkey, satisfied Fern was awake and calm, waddled to a corner of the carved-out tree, picking up mint leaves and chewing on them, mumbling to herself.

A dull ache had gripped Fern’s leg, but she was too tired to raise herself up and look. “You’re awake,” a voice said. Fern turned, and met eyes with a gorgeous, sleek clouded leopard. “I was terrified you had died.”

“Who are you?” Fern croaked, her voice hoarse and scratchy.

“Speckles,” the leopard said. “I found you, remember?” Fern could. She remembered the shocked expression on her face, and the fear and sudden calmness to try and help.

“Fern Clover,” Fern said. “My friends call me Fern.”

“Fern, fern, fern,” Qiri said, waddling over. “Clover, clover. Birthed on a bed of clovers. Saw a fern when he opened his eyes. Fern. Clover. Clover. Fern.” She cupped her hands together and spat the chewed-up mint leaves into them, smearing them on her leg. Fern yelped in pain and Qiri just pinned her leg down. “Two fathers. One daughter. One black cat, one red cat. One caring, one cautious.”

The monkey finished and waddled away. Speckles jumped down from her perch and walked over to Fern, laying in front of her. “Sorry about your leg,” she said. “The tiger?” Fern ducked her head and nodded. “He hunts on my hunting grounds. Steals food from my tree. Very annoying.”

Fern chuckled. “I guess so,” she said. “Qiri, can I get up?”

“No, no, no, no,” Qiri said, leaping over to sit on Fern. “Must stay. Bad leg. Get Bagheera, yes, yes, yes.” She paused to look over at Speckles. “Find Bagheera and Baloo. Black panther and fat bear. Go, go, go.”

Speckles shot an apologetic look at Fern and stood, walking away. “She’s gorgeous,” Fern said softly.

“Yes, yes,” Qiri said. “Very pretty. Infertile. Faulty organs.”

“Shame,” Fern said casually. “Qiri. Can I walk?”

“We shall see,” Qiri said. It didn’t sound too hopeful.

***

After Bagheera and Baloo arrived (Bagheera growling at her for not listening to him and also licking her ears comfortingly), Qiri kicked Speckles and Fern out to speak to them both. As soon as she put weight on her injured leg, pain gripped it and she ended up lifting it from the ground, limping out.

The two sat side-by-side at the river nearby the banyan tree. “It’s going to be a pain hunting with this,” Fern said weakly. It hurt like hell and putting even a little pressure on it brought agony.

“Sorry,” Speckles said, brushing her tail with Fern’s. “About what he did.”

“My own fault,” Fern said. “I went looking for him.”

“But still.”

Fern hummed and dropped her head on her paws, her tail flicking. Her tail wasn’t badly injured, but Qiri told her she might have to practise her tree climbing skills again, as the scar was forcing her tail to knock her off balance. That plus her injured leg, and she would have a lot of relearning to do.

They stayed in silence, listening to the murmur of conversation and the burble of the water. Speckles flicked her tail across Fern’s and Fern couldn’t help but smile, rubbing against Speckle’s shoulder. There was a scuffling as Bagheera and Baloo came out, Bagheera’s tail swishing anxiously. “Well?” Fern said, rising to her paws, trying her best not to put any weight on her leg.

Bagheera said nothing, and his eyes betrayed nothing…except…a deep, unending sadness and an uprooted hatred. “It’s not good, is it?”

He shook his head.


End file.
